Speaking at a meeting of the Borough Council, Ray Tweten, commandant of the Marine Corps League Cpl. Philip A. Reynolds Detachment, describes plans to restore the Elks Point Memorial Park in Freehold Borough. FREEHOLD — The meeting room at Borough Hall looked like a sea of red on a recent evening as members of the Marine Corps League Cpl. Philip A. Reynolds Detachment of Freehold filled the seats at a Borough Council meeting.
The men, dressed in red blazers and red hats, were on hand to ask borough officials for assistance with the restoration of the Elks Point War Memorial. The memorial sits at the intersection of Broadway and East Main streets.
So far, the Elks Point Restoration Committee has raised $14,600, which is half the amount needed for the proposed restoration plan. The memorial includes a marker for men from the Freehold area who died in service to the nation.
The goal of the restoration project is to make Elks Point a more maintenance free park-like setting, according to Councilman George Schnurr.
Schnurr said local veterans groups, most notably the Marine Corps League, have been “providing maintenance work over and beyond the maintenance that the borough’s Streets and Roads Department provides.”
He said the Marine Corps League has taken the lead on this project.
“There is an architectural plan in place to address the maintenance concerns initially raised by the veterans groups. The plan provides for a maintenance-free Elks Point and dresses up the main gateway into Freehold Borough and our downtown district,” Schnurr said.
Schnurr introduced Jim Donechie, Tim Rohan and John Bosco, members of the Cpl. Philip A. Reynolds Detachment who are also members of the Elks Point Restoration Committee.
The restoration of the memorial has been endorsed by the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Jewish War Veterans, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Cpl. Philip A. Reynolds Detachment, according to Schnurr.
Ray Tweten, the commandant of the Cpl. Philip A. Reynolds Detachment, said the organization had a long history of service to the Elks Point memorial.
He said the members understand how important it is to honor the nation’s fallen heroes while supporting active duty military personnel.
A restoration plan drawn up by Cranmer Engineering estimates the following costs: $20,600 for pavers work and $8,600 for name stones and markers (crosses and a Star of David), Tweten said. The total estimate $29,200.
Borough Engineer William Wentzien, of Cranmer Engineering, Shrewsbury, prepared the restoration plans at no cost to the borough, according to Schnurr.
Wentzien said it had been an honor to work with the Elks Point Restoration Committee.
“When I first met with them they gave me three mandates — to make it more beautiful, with less maintenance, and to have it function better,” Wentzien said. “What’s out there is very meaningful, and I am wholeheartedly behind making the project more beautiful. The plan includes brick pavers in a brick color, with some grey brick banding at various points along the site.”
He said the memorial’s existing brick walkway is narrow and a concern to the veterans. The restoration plan addresses that issue with a wider path. A small area is proposed as a space where a ceremony could be held at the memorial site.
Mayor Nolan Higgins said the council would take the project under advisement.